BG2.27

Today’s lecture is from Thirumangai Alwar sannidhi in Thirukkannapuram temple. This Alwar was so much devoted to the Sri SowriRaja Perumal here, that he sang 100 songs or one entire 8^th decade in his Peria Thirumozhi was devoted to this Kshetram. This Alwar also made another collection of hymns and that is Thiru Nedunthandakam. With the aid of this collection, we will try to examine the 21^st sloka of chapter 2 of Gita. In ThiruNedunthandakam, in the first hymn, the Alwar while describing Paramatma, jeevatma and achit, he employs three words in Tamil. They are Munnuru, Pinnuru and Ponnuru. Munnuru represents all the inanimate –achit- objects, like the body, we see. Pinnuru is the jeevatma that is latent in these achit entities. Ponnuru means the Paramatma hidden in the atman. We have seen that the achit perishes while the atman is eternal. This Alwar also says that the atman is unborn, unchangeable and imperishable. The achit are all created, modified and perish. Alwar says he wants to surrender unto Him Who pervades this atman. Earlier we told that the atman is the tiniest entity. Some may raise doubts here. When atman is atomic in size, how it is logical or sensible that Paramatma can be tinier than atman? In the primary classes we were educated that atom was the smallest matter. But later on in higher studies we were told that the atom consists of protons, electrons and neutrons. Similarly, though atman is the tiniest entity, as we research and reason, we conclude that the Paramatma resides in the atman. So, we should understand that Paramatma is fully dwelling in the soul. The soul with his intellect is fully present in the body it is occupying. This relationship among the three entities has to be borne in mind and we pass on to the 21^st sloka:

vedavinasinam nityam
ya enam ajam avyayam
katham sa purushah partha
kam ghatayati hanti kam

"O Partha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable kill anyone or encourage anyone to kill?"

Here, Sri Krishna says that he, who realizes that the atman cannot be destroyed, neither tries to destroy atman nor persuades others to destroy atman. Will anyone do that? If I know that I cannot break this pillar by my head, I will not try to do that. Similarly, if it is realized that the atman is imperishable, nobody will ever try to annihilate the atman nor induces anyone else to do that. Sri Krishna says this because if Arjuna realizes that he cannot destroy atman, he will know he cannot kill Bheeshma or Drona, nor he will think that he could possibly ask Bhima or other friendly kings to kill. So He reiterates that how he, who realizes that the atman is ajam-unborn, avyayam- unchangeable and avinasanam- indestructible and nityam- eternal, can ever think of killing anyone or induce others to kill anyone. This soul is in this body and experiences the pleasures and pains and after this is over, atman gets released from that body. So only the body is destroyed. Sri Krishna uses three adjectives to describe jeevatma unborn, immutable and imperishable. This does not cause boredom, as the soul is gyana swaroopy- embodiment of knowledge and ananda swaroopy- repository of happiness. Here, we have to know two types of entities. One is called paradarsam and the other is pratyadarsam. All objects we see such as this pillar, watch, etc., are all paradarsam. Jeevatma, on the other hand is pratyadarsam. The difference is atman knows it is atman while other objects will not know what they are. Souls do not require an external agency to know who they are. But all the inanimate objects require identification by another entity. Atman is always awake. As an example, we nowadays see clock in cars. Let us say we drive the car and reach a place at say 4p.m We switch off the engine in the car and all are closed including the clock. After an hour we again get into the vehicle and start the engine. The clock panel also gets illuminated and shows the time, now as 5p.m. Even though the car engine was shut, the battery in the clock keeps it ticking during the engine-off period also. This can be noticed in the computers also. Similarly, the atman in our body is always alive as he is an ocean of knowledge and that knowledge is refreshed always. A person with this knowledge knows that that atman is everlasting and cannot be killed. There is an episode in the Mahabharatha called Yaksha Prasnam. The Pandavas when in forest in exile, one day feel thirsty. Sahadev first goes to a pond to drink and fetch water for others. An Yaksha asks him to answer his questions before taking water. Sahadev is indifferent to that and tries to take water and he swoons and falls down. Later, other brothers come one by one and they also do not care to answer the Yaksha and meet the same fate. Finally, Yudhishtra comes and encounters the same question from the Yaksha. But true to his humble nature, he tries to answer the questions. One of the questions was whish is surprising in this world. Yudhishtra replied that the surprise is, in spite of the nine holes in the body, the soul does not leave the body. Such a tiny atman does not escape even when the holes are wide open. If in a cage, the door is open, it will be a surprise if the bird in the cage does not fly out. Then another question posed was which is most surprising? Yudhishtra replied that while we see so many dead, we still think that we will live for ever. Humorously it is told that when a dead body is cremated or carried by professionals hired for that purpose, they will be praying that more such dead bodies they should cremate or carry so that they could live happily for ever with the money so earned. So it is very difficult to come to that realization that the atman is everlasting and the body only perishes.

BG2.26

The 17^th sloka dealt with the reasoning that since there is not a smaller entity than the atman, it is indestructible. In the 18^th sloka, since the body was a composite of the five elements and since it was growing and waning, it is destroyable. In the 19^th sloka, it was told that he, who does not understand this true nature of atman and body, is not a wise man. Having stated so, now in the 20^th sloka, Sri Krishna establishes that atman does not undergo any changes whatsoever.

na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
ajo nityah sasvato ’yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire

"For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He was not born at the time of kalpa, does not disappear at the end of kalpa. He is unborn, eternal, unchanging and very ancient. He is not slain when the body is slain."

Anything that is eternal is unchanging and anything that is changeless is everlasting. All materials we see like flower and mud pots change as the time passes and so get destroyed. Earlier when He said atman is not born or die, Arjuna had a doubt that atman might not have been born now, but at the beginning of some centuries ago he could have been born. As a reply to that, Sri Krishna says kadacin- at anytime the atman was neither born nor will die at anytime. Because birth and death are related to the body. If atman and body were one, as the body changes from youth to old age, atman also should have been different. In reality, the same atman is in the changed body and so atman never undergoes any change. Human age is estimated to be about 100 years. Six months period from mid January – beginning of Tamil month Thai- is Utharayanam and the balance six months from mid July [corresponding to Tamil month Adi beginning] is Dakshinayanam. To the heavenly gods –Devas- each six-month period is a day or night. Thus our one-year is their one-day. So their age is 365X100 years of earthly human beings. They die at the end of this period. Even here also, the atman never dies. The god for creation, the four-faced Brahma, has much longer life. There are four yugas- Kritha, Thretha, Dwapara and Kali. The total period of the four yugas – one chatur yuga- is 4,320,000 years on earth. If 1000 chatur yugas pass it is one-day time for Brahma. So, one can calculate the Brahma’s life span! Even this atman of Brahma does not die or born. So the atman is eternal like the Paramatma. Such is the glorious nature of our souls. This does not mean our souls and Paramatma are same. If we develop our wisdom or gyana then we can have the knowledge of the Paramatma and also have the same degree of happiness. The great deluge [pralayam] is called kalpa. At the start of the kalpa, Brahma creates everything in this Universe. At that time also the atman is not created. Nor the atmans perish at the end of a kalpa. When a child is born, at that time an atman chooses that body and is born. Atman is there in everything. It is in this plant and in that pillar. One may wonder how atman can be in those inanimate objects. But if we examine closely, even our body is inanimate and we know atman is there. So, there is atman in all materials also. The only difference is that the atman in our body can develop his knowledge while, the atman in the pillar has no scope for wisdom. The atman in that pillar is there to expend the karma he had acquired and the moment that is over, that atman will depart that pillar and reside in another body. The magnitude of the wisdom of the atman in any body is determined by its past karma. If the wisdom is, let us say, 0%, it resides in an inanimate body like pillar. A slightly higher intellectual makes the soul to take a bird’s body or animal’s body. More wisdom makes the soul to take bodies of human beings or devas or even a Brahma. So the ranking of the knowledge decides the body that soul will be residing. The up and down in gyana or wisdom is only found in atmans. Once, the soul has taken a body, he tries to develop his wisdom and seek a higher level and ultimately, resides in the Sri Vaikuntam or His abode from where there is no more return for the atman to lower planes like this earth. Thus atman is eternal and never undergoes any change. Sri Krishna calls atman as purana. Pura api navaha puranaha is the Sanskrit meaning for the word purana. It means to say that it is very ancient and at the same time fresh or novel. Atman also is ancient but appears fresh everyday. It is common knowledge that we seek changes so as to avoid monotonous, which can be boring and dull. We rearrange our surroundings. We change our dress. So Arjuna feels that an unchanging and static atman might cause boredom. Sri Krishna allays such thoughts and says that atman is fresh everyday with more and better knowledge. This is a greatness of atman that though he is changeless, he appears afresh every time. Like Sri Aravamudan of Thirukkudanthai [Kumbakonam], Alwar says, every time he visits Him, he finds Him revealing Himself differently. We listen to Sri Ramayana. But every time we listen it refreshes our knowledge. So He now tells Arjuna that by killing Bheeshma, he will not kill the atman of Bheeshma.

BG2.25

In the last two slokas we saw the eternal nature of soul and the perishable nature of the body. But we see the body decaying and so it may be unnecessary to give so many reasons to prove body is decayable. However, it is not so and there are reasons to make this much of effort to say. Firstly, atman is not perishable like Him, the Paramatma. This is affirmative comparison. In a negative comparison, the atman is not like the body, which perishes. So, to establish the superiority of atman, destructible body is compared. Just as we come across dos and don’ts in our daily life, two types of examples were needed to show the indestructible quality of atman and so comparison with body was necessary. Another benefit also was found that by telling Arjuna that the body is perishable, his notion that he is going to kill Bheeshma and Drona would be changed. Though, in the fight he may destroy the bodies of these people, those bodies are anyway going to perish. Just by Arjuna not fighting, those bodies are not going to be everlasting. There can be many more factors to destroy those bodies. Also, by describing the decaying nature of the body, the impression of some that nourishments and tonics can keep this body eternal, can be cleared. Also, only if the perishable nature of body is understood, many persons who are suffering will at least derive peace that the ailments, which cause sufferings, will end with the perishing of the body. Since this body is going to perish, why bother so much about it? Some people also will derive this type of feeling. We may not spend money and time on unnecessary makeup to decorate this body. Lastly, we should get a balanced view about the body and not to think the body and soul are one and the same. These are the reasons why Sri Krishna took pains to explain the nature of the body and the soul. Having told this, He moves to the next sloka where He says that a person who does not understand the nature of soul and body is a fool:

ya enam vetti hantaram
yas cainam manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijanito
nayam hanti na hanyate

“The two types of people, who think there are objects to destroy this [soul] and who think that this [soul] is destroyable, have not understood the nature [of the soul]”

Hantaram means objects or entities, which can kill. The first line means knowing that there are objects, which can kill a soul. Hatam manyate means believing as having been destroyed or killed. So the second line states that also believing that the soul as having been killed. Na vijanito means not understood. So these two categories of people, one thinking there are objects to destroy atman and the other who believe that the atman is destroyed, have not understood. Because, in the fourth line, it is stated that the atman is neither killed nor there are any objects capable of destroying the atman. Here objects means another soul as well as things causing destruction such as sword, arrow or bullet, etc. Therefore, the 19^th sloka clearly says that there is nothing which can annihilate atman nor the atman ever gets annihilated.

Here another doubt may arise. This appears to be in contrast with some Veda sentences. Veda says ‘na himsyat sarvan bhoothani’. Do not be brutal [cause himsa] to any living creatures. The same Sri Krishna, Who gave the shastras asking us not to harm other living creatures, here, is advocating Arjuna that one cannot kill a soul. There seems to be contradiction. We may think, perhaps the shastras only ask us not to kill the bodies of other creatures. When Veda says cow slaughter should be avoided, does it mean the body of the cow should not be hurt? This is also not correct. Because, when someone dies, the body is cremated by igniting fire to the body. None calls this as himsa or hurting. So the shastras instruct us not to harm a body which is living or when the soul is inside. Therefore, the implication is that one should not cause maranam [death]. Maranam means mruth prana thyagena. That is separation of atman from the body and the Vedas advise us not to do this separation. So, the correct interpretation of the shastras is that, we are not authorized to separate the soul from the body. In fact, these words are similar to the words used in Katavalli Upanishad.

BG2.24

“Brindaranya nivasaya balaramanujaya cha rukmini prananathaya partha sarathy mangalam”. This is the mangala slokam of the Husband of Sri Rukmini and Chariot Driver of Arjuna. He assumed the position of Acharya and taught the Gita. As Sri Gitacharya, as Sri Parthasarathy and as Sri VenkataKrishnan, He is gracing the devotees in Thiruvallikkeni [Triplicane, Madras]. He is same present here in Thirukkannankudi as Sri Damodara Narayana and Sri Shyamala Meni Perumal. Today the lecture is from the Sri Aravinda Nayaki Thayar sannidhi. Prostrating to the Divya Dhampathi, we will now see the 18^th sloka. In the 17^th sloka to prove that the atman is eternal, He gave one reason; atman is tiny and no other is tinier than the atman to destroy atman. Here, Acharya Sri Vedanta Desika poses a question in his Thathparya Chandrika, a treatise on the Gita. It is true that atman is indestructible as no other entity is smaller than that, except one. That one is Paramatma described as Antharayami. The Upanishads describe Him as ‘anor aniyan mahato maheeyan’ [atomic in atom and larger than the largest]. So can He destroy an atman? This is the question Desika poses. This is an interesting question. Earlier we gave an example of the mobile phone. As such an Rs.30,000 worth set will not work unless a tiny SIM card was placed in it. But this also is not enough, as we require the electro magnetic spectrum spread out for the mobile phone to have connectivity. This is provided by the towers [BT] erected in the area. Similarly if the atman [SIM card] in the body [Mobile handset] has to work, a towering personality –Paramatma [BT]- is needed. We can see another example also. Injection is needed to cure an illness. The medicine was administered using an injection syringe fitted with a needle. The illness got cured. Now, was it the piercing of needle into the patient cured the body? Though, needle piercing was necessary, that alone could not cure the illness and we require the medicine to be sent through the needle. So if we imagine the atman as a needle, the medicine is Paramatma. Thus God is present in each and every atman. Alwar says ‘udalmisai uyirena karandhengum parandulan’. So Sriman Narayana dwells within the soul. Then, He should be able to destroy the soul, is it not? The reply to this in the normal way, can put us in tight spot. If one says that atman is indestructible, we find Paramtma is tinier than that. If we still maintain that atman cannot be destroyed, then the All Powerful quality of God is disproved, as He cannot destroy atman. On the other hand, if we say Paramtma can destroy atman by accepting His all Powerful quality, then it means atman is destructible and what was told earlier as the everlasting quality is not there for the atman. Here, Desika gives an amazing answer to the question. It is most important to accept that God possesses the omnipotent quality and has the capacity to annihilate any atman. But out of sheer love for His darling atman, He has taken an oath as not to destroy any atman. So, it is His unwillingness to destroy an atman, makes the atman as eternal. It is similar to a case where, a door is locked and the only key is with a single person, who alone can open that door. If that person is away some 1000 miles away, we normally say, this door cannot be opened. What we imply is in the normal way it cannot be opened, unless the person comes with the key. So also, the atman can be destroyed only by a single Entity, but that Entity has vowed not to destroy and thus the atman is everlasting. One may wonder how far this assurance can be relied as Sri Krishna is famous for His tricks and cheats. Those are the playful deeds of the Lord as a cowherd and in a serious sermon He speaks only the truth and so His pledge not to destroy the atman is dependable. Now we can go to the 18^th sloka:

antavanta ime deha
nityasyoktah saririnah
anasino ’prameyasya
tasmad yudhyasva bharata

"The material body, of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity [atman] is sure to come to an end; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata."

Sri Krishna says to Arjuna,’ therefore you can fight’. ‘Why?’ asks Arjuna. ‘Because the body is perishable’, replies Sri Krishna. The body anyhow is going to perish and to establish this, three reasons are given. Anasi means never perishable. Prama is budhhi or wisdom. Prameyam means things we recognize using our wisdom. Aprameyam means that which is different from the prameyam or from the objects understood by wisdom. In other words aprameya means the knowledgeable atman. So, that atman which is imperishable and which has the power of knowledge is eternal and this atman is using the body to clear the karma or effect of past deeds. Once the karma is over, this body gets destroyed. In this sloka three important words are to be seen: ime, deha and saririnah. Ime implies the body we see. This is made of a combination of the five elements: prithvy, appu, vayu, agni and akash. We gave earlier the analogy of upma, an eatable. As such sooji, water and salt do not get spoiled, but a combination of these, which make upma, gets spoiled quickly. So our body also, a combination of the five elements, gets perished. Against this atman is pure and made only of wisdom or gyana. Next, deha means that which grows and decays. That which has organs or components will grow and decay. Like a building built of so many components, our body is made of various limbs, and so faces destruction. On the contrary, atman is without limbs and so no growth or decay. Sareeram means body and sareeri means atman, residing inside the sareeram. The atman is in a body to expend the punya or past good deeds by merry making and drain the papa or past misdeeds by sorrowing. So as the atman spends away the karma i.e. papa and punya, the body it has made as its abode, has to perish. We can tabulate these as below:

BODY SOUL

1. Combination of five elements Pure Gyana only

2. Possesses organs No organs or limbs

3. A vehicle to perform karma Beneficiary of the karma.

Because of the above three reasons, the body is perishable and the atman is ever enduring. Thus in the preceding two slokas, Sri Krishna establishes the eternity of atman and perishability of body by four reasons, viz. tiniest nature of atman, combination of elements, possession of organs and growth and decay of body with karma.

BG2.23

We start with the 1^st sloka of Swami Desikan’s Sri Gopala Vimsathi: ‘vande brindavanacharam vallabhi jana vallabam jayanthi sambavam dhama vyjayanthi vibhooshanam’ Brindavan was a forest full of thorns and Sri Krishna converted it into grazing field for the cows. He traversed the entire place. He was the darling of all gopikas and captivated all His devotees. The same Sri Krishna is dwelling in this Thirukkannankudi as Sri Damodara Narayanan. He is also called Sri Shyamala Meni Perumal. Shyam is dark green color. That is why He is described as ‘pachchai maa malai meni’ and ‘kannan ennum karundeivam’. We mentioned about the four humorous old sayings about this place. Thirumangai Alwar, we mentioned earlier, hid the gold in a field. Next day morning the landowner came to plough the land and at that time a dispute arose as to whom the land belonged to. While the owner claimed it was his and showed records, Alwar refuted it and said his records were in Srirangam and wanted time to show the same. The owner agreed and Alwar took away his gold and went to Srirangam but never returned to settle the dispute and so it still remains a thola [unsettled] vazhakku [dispute]. The Alwar saw a well and requested the woman, who was drawing water from the well, to give him water to drink. But the lady having seen the dispute with the farmer of the land, thought Alwar might claim the well and the drawing pot, and so refused. Alwar cursed that all water in this place to go saline and so even now the water in this place is not drinkable. So the saying ‘oora [not springing ] kinaru [well]’. Here, only in the temple well one gets fresh water. These are all incidences narrated for humor. The same Sri Damodara Narayana Perumal as Sri Krishna is telling Arjuna. In the 16^th sloka He told about the everlasing nature of the soul and the fleeting nature of the body. In the 17^th sloka He gives the reason for the eternity of the soul and in the 18^th sloka the reasons for the perishable quality of body. The 17^th sloka is:

avinasi tu tad viddhi
yena sarvam idam tatam
vinasam avyayasyasya
na kascit kartum arhati

"That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul."

Atman is all pervading in the matter we are able to perceive. Here, atman is in singular form, but means every atman it occupies the respective body. Sri Krishna says that if one knows that the atman is indestructible, then one can conclude that there is nothing to destroy the atman. This means no living or nonliving entities can destroy atman. In other words another atman also cannot negate an atman. No materials also can ever annihilate an atman. This indestructibility is natural to atman and so it cannot be wiped out. Just as the fragrance, which is, natural character of a flower cannot be removed. The atman in a body is pervading or spread out in the entire body, just like a glow of a lamp illuminates the entire room it is in. Atman is atomic in size and the body it is residing is much bigger. Scientifically, many atoms form all materials we recogonise. But the atman is smaller than the atom and there is nothing smaller than the atman. Here, Sri Krishna postulates a very important law. Only a smaller object can destroy a bigger object. Let us explain this. When an arrow is fired at a body, the tip of the arrow is minute and so it is able to hurt the bigger body. Similarly, the bullets fired from a rifle destroy the target, as the bullet is smaller than the target. That is, only sookshmam [minute] will destroy sthoolam [enormity] and as a corollary sthoolam can never destroy sookshmam. Since atman is the tiniest and there is nothing else smaller than atman, it cannot be destroyed. Let us examine the veracity of this Law. A stout rod destroys a small earthen pot. Apparently,it is contrary to the law mentioned now in that the bigger rod destroyed the smaller pot. But actually, the enormity has not destroyed the pot. If that was true then a big bundle of cotton if thrown on the pot should have broken the pot. Similarly, if the rod were just kept on the pot, the pot remains without breaking. So a massive rod alone is not responsible for breaking the pot. Even a throw cannot break the pot as we saw throwing cotton bundle could not break it. So it is seen that a rod and a force are needed to break the pot. This is also not enough. If the pot were at one place and if we swipe the rod with force at another place, the pot will not break. Because a contact between the rod and pot is essential to break the pot. So, we can now conclude that to break a pot, a mass, a force and a contact are needed. Science tells that mass and velocity [or acceleration] produce force or power and this in a minute form acts at the contact point to destroy. We can remember the famous equation E [energy]= m [mass] Xc*2 [velocity]. Thus the law is observed to be true. An invisible minute power destroyed the pot. That is why Sri Krishna says that atman without a smaller entity being available, can never be destroyed.

BG2.22

Of the five Sri Krishna Kshetrams, Thirukkannankudi is one. Here, Sri Damodara Narayana Perumal is gracing the devotees. Thirumangai Alwar has composed ten songs on this Perumal. In one of the hymns, the Alwar narrates an incidence from the Mahabharatha. Sri Krishna is sent as emissary to plead, at least, for five villages. When He was to come the next day, Dhridarashtra, Duryodana and Sakuni confer to plan and get Sri Krishna on the side of Kauravas. Sri Krishna was not to be lured by anything except bhakthi. Wise persons like Sanjaya and Vidura, counseled them not to adopt such mean ways. They did not heed such advice. They schemed to trap Sri Krishna. So, they constructed a false floor in the assembly. Beneath this floor, wrestlers were housed in a chamber. The scheme was that Sri Krshna as He arrived in the assembly, would be asked to take a decorated golden seat kept on the false floor and the moment he sat, the floor will give way and Sri Krishna will fall inside the underneath chamber, where the wrestlers will pounce on Him and keep Him bound. Duryodana had also given strict orders that no one should get up from their seats when Sri Krishna entered the assembly. But when Sri Krishna entered, the first to get up was Duryodana! Sri Krishna gracefully entered making enquiries with the seated lords there. Duryodana requested Sri Krishna to sit on the specially erected golden chair. Sri Krishna declined saying that ordinary seat was enough as He had come as an ambassador. Duryodana insisted on Sri Krishna taking that seat only, he had cunningly erected. It is usual for anyone to suspect if one is offered a particular seat. Sri Krishna also grew suspicious, but decided to sit on that same chair. Having been brought up with rich nourishment, Sri Krishna was well built and so when He sat on the chair, the floor caved in due to the weight. Immediately, He took His Viswaroopam and His physical form stretched from far beneath to high up in skies. Duryodana’s plans were shattered to dust. Earlier He was a cowherd and now a gigantic figure. Sri Damodara Narayana Perumal also signifies the same. Damodara indicates the smaller cowherd obedient to His mother Yasoda. Narayana signifies the Great Figure Who encompasses the entire Universe. Damodara shows His simplicity and kindness to His devotees, while Narayana implies the boundless and unimaginable nature in Him. In the battlefield now, He is showing Him so simple and to patiently clear each and every doubt Arjuna has. Now, He says in the 16^th sloka:

nasato vidyate bhavo
nabhavo vidyate satah
ubhayor api drsto ’ntas
tv anayos tattva-darshibhih

"Those great gyanis and philosophers have concluded that of the material body there is no endurance and of the the soul there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both."

He says that Arjuna should not think that these are only His findings; but these are the conclusions by great thinkers too. Here. Sri Krishna uses four words: sat –asat and bhava-abhava. Sat points to atman. Asat indicates body. Bhava signifies eternal imperishable nature, while abhavam means transient and perishable nature. Atman has the eternal imperishable quality and body has the transient perishable nature. Sri Krishna says ‘body [asat] does not have permanent imperishable quality. Soul [sat] does not have the perishable nature’. Instead of saying directly that atman is permanent and body is perishable, He says the quality of one is not found in the other. Atman will never have the nature of body and the body will never have the quality of atman. The character of both these are thus resolved with finality, by great gyanis and wise men. This sloka comes after the 15^th one wherein it was told that those with high objectives would have to bear the twin pleasure and pain. An athlete bears the difficulties to win. So also Arjuna should train himself to bear the injuries in a fight. Does not a woman bear all the inconveniences for ten months so that she can fondle and play with her child? So one has to learn to bear the sufferings. By not fighting, can Arjuna avoid being hurt? One fears air travel saying it is risky. Next day while walking one gets tripped and becomes lame. So injury is inevitable. If one catches common cold he is advised that whether he takes any medicine or not the problem would remain for three days or so. One takes still a medicine as a safeguard and as a psychological need. So all these are migrants on our body and have to be regarded so. In the 11^th sloka He mentioned ‘gatasun agatasums ca
nanusocanti panditah’ [learned persons knowing the nature of body and soul will not brood] and now He reiterates this. A natural character of soul is permanency and that of body is changing. The only quality that is not changing in body is the ever-changing nature only! Atman never changes and body is ever changing. That is why some call this body as false. It is not to imply it does not exist like a rabbit horn or horse horn. But it means it has a false appearance and it is continuously changing. Nammalwar says in his Thiruvaimozhi “minnin nilayila mannuyir aakkaigal..” the body is not having the stability of lightning. How this is possible? After all lightning lasts only for a few seconds, while most of the people are alive for more than fifty years. Then, why Nammalwar says like this? Even a child will tell that a lightning will last only for a few seconds. But no one can for definite say that a person will live so many years. Thus there is always uncertainty about the body.

BG2.21

Today [16thApril, 2007] also the lecture is from the Thirukkannankudi temple. For the sake of Vijaya [Arjuna] Sri Krishna came as a chariot driver and for the sake of the Universe at large, many invaluable doctrines were delivered. We are listening to the lecture from the banks of the temple pond sravana pushkarini. Sravanam means listening. By just hearing about this pond all our sins are washed away. One side of this pond is Sri Damodara Narayana and on the other side is Sri Veetrirundha Perumal, Who was the ruling Deity here. Even before Sri Damodara Perumal came running from Sage Vasishta and resided here, Sri Veetrirundha Perumal has been making this place as His abode. All are requested to visit this place where the innermost essence of Gita is residing here and worshipping Him, all can get blessings. In the 14^th sloka, we saw that the connection with organs and elements creates sorrow or happy feelings. Every doubt expressed here is on behalf of us by Arjuna. He asks why should one bear these twins, happy and sorrow or cold and heat? By getting hurt in this fight, if we are to get any benefits we can bear that pain. Or, if it promises a better world after death also we can tolerate this pain. But the pain is unbearable here and by killing relatives and teachers only hell is assured, so this fight appears to be avoidable, says Arjuna. In reply is the 15^th sloka:

yam hi na vyathayanty ete
purusham purusharsabha
sama-duhkha-sukham dhiram
so ’mrtatvaya kalpate

"O best among men [Arjuna], the person who takes in the same manner happiness and distress and is brave in both is certainly eligible for liberation."

Here, Sri Krishna mentions dheeram, which in normal connotation means bravery. But, where the surroundings are creating distress and one does not get worried, one is dheera. Where circumstances compel one to glee over but that one does not rejoice, that one is dheera. Winter or summer, if one takes alike, one is dheera. This is a difficult suggestion. Sitting in Himalayas one should not shiver and in a desert one should not ask for cool air. But a person of such temperament is a karma yogi. This is what Swami Vivekananda preached in foreign lands. If one can experience peace and silence in a very busy market area or the other way, he is karma yogi. Sri Krishna does not say all these sufferings will not be there but one should get accustomed to it and bear them. So a person who takes alike comfort and discomfort, qualifies for liberation. Here the word Amrutham is used and it means the place where there is no more death [and so rebirth]. In other words it means Sri Vaikuntam, the abode of Sriman Narayana. This temperament is also sometimes regarded as ‘seeing’ one’s own atman. But earlier Arjuna was telling that he may not get even heaven, one may ask. Here the Moksham or Sri Vaikuntam, is much beyond and superior to heaven and hell. This is because if one has to attain heaven, he should have performed good deeds or punya. Similarly, if one’s destination is hell one must have committed sins or papa. But what Sri Krishna says does not confine one to papa or punya and shuttle between this world and heaven or hell. In our lives we see both pleasure and pain. Marriages are celebrated and we are happy. Someone dies or some things are lost and we feel sorry. It should be kept in mind that when we are happy, some portion of our punya we had accumulated is being spent. Similarly, sorrow expends the gathered papa. Then, just think, should one be happy or mourning? If, as an example, grieving for ten minutes is going to reduce 100 papa units and similarly, if ten minutes’ rejoice is going to reduce our punyam by 100 punya units, surely, everyone will choose to grieve and exhaust the papa as quickly as possible. So, if we realize that to clear papa we are grieving, the grief will be pleasant, on the other hand, punya is spent by rejoicing, happy incidents will look bitter. So we should understand that it is natural in life to have both happiness and sorrow. In fact it is practical that, what was bitter sometimes back is pleasant now and vice versa. A shawl in summer is uncomfortable while the same shawl in winter is soothing. Bitter gourd was hated in our younger days but now after knowing the medicinal value it is sweet to us. So the objective of a good health makes us to choose what was abhorred as bitter in the past. So, He advises Arjuna that for the grand objective of maintaining Dharma, he should fight. During Indian Independence struggle, many took the physical torture inflicted on them with a smile, because, objective was noble. Those are all dheera. We are able to undergo minor surgeries after administering local anesthetic. We refuse to bear that pain without local anesthetic. But the freedom strugglers, for the sake of a higher target, took upon themselves pain with a smile. So it is only our habit and practice will make us dheera. The word purusham does not mean male, but atman. Our body is called puri and the one who is dwelling in that puri is purusha. The soul is not different for males and females.